Joel Idelson
CEO, Image Specialty Partners
You know what I love about dental marketing? Nothing.
Somehow, an industry built around confidence, aesthetics, and human interaction still thinks stock photos of forced smiles and “Call now for a free consultation!” is how you build a brand. Dental marketing today feels like it got frozen in time, right around the moment we stopped using BlackBerrys.
Scroll through most dental Instagram accounts and you’ll see the same tired formula: a hygienist awkwardly holding a toothbrush like it’s the first time she’s seen one… or a “Happy Patient” selfie taken under lighting that makes the place look more like a DMV than a healthcare provider.
Here’s the problem: most dental practices don’t have a marketing problem—they have an effort problem. It’s not that patients aren’t interested. It’s that most of what we put out doesn’t give them a reason to be.
Now compare that to medspas and aesthetics clinics. Technically, they’re in the healthcare business too—but you’d never know it by the way they market. Their websites look like they were designed by Apple. Their branding is modern, clean, and aspirational. Their social feeds actually make you want to book an appointment. They understand something dentists often forget: in a visual business, how you look is your value prop.
So why is it that Botox gets better marketing than braces?
Maybe it’s time we stopped treating marketing like a chore and started treating it like a growth driver. That means real brand-building. It means getting creative. It means not being afraid to look good.
Because in 2025, if your marketing still looks like a PowerPoint slide… you’re not advertising—you’re time traveling.